Rights activists are urging the
government of Rwanda to end its practice of isolating prisoners convicted in
Rwanda by holding them in solitary confinement for a minimum of 20 years.The group Human Rights Watch says it has
reminded the Rwandan government about legislation enacted by parliament in
December that prohibits solitary confinement for genocide suspects transferred
from the international criminal tribunal or extradited from other foreign
countries.However, Human Rights Watch
says those convicted in Rwandan courts often face a different standard that
amounts to torture under international law. Human Rights Watch senior Africa
advisor Alison Des Forges says that because the legislation is selective, efforts by outsiders to have
suspects sent back to Rwanda for prosecution from other places have been
unsuccessful.

“The
law itself makes a discrimination, makes a choice, and says people who are
returned to Rwanda if they were arrested abroad, or who are sent back to Rwanda
by the International Tribunal will not suffer this penalty.But other Rwandans captured or arrested
inside Rwanda are subject to it if they have committed certain crimes. So here
you have a case of a very severe punishment being possibly applied to one part
of the citizens, and not to others,” she explained.

In
2007, Rwanda adopted legislation abolishing the death penalty.Although this conformed to international laws
observed by others, including the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR), located in Arusha, Tanzania, genocide suspects and Rwandans found
guilty outside the country still have not been returned to Rwanda for
prosecution.The International Court has
denied transfer in five cases during the past year, and France recently denied
extradition in three cases.Another
Rwanda genocide case in the United Kingdom is currently on appeal. Des Forges says that although Rwanda has
voiced a willingness to receive cases from the ICTR and help other jurisdictions
hear remaining cases, foreign judges remain reluctant to send the prisoners
back.

“Generally,
the judicial systems abroad have been concerned, particularly about whether or
not someone will be able to present a full defense, have access to a full range
of defense witnesses in order to demonstrate his innocence of the charges.It may well be that in the minds of some
(foreign) judges that this solitary confinement provision may also play a part,”
she noted.

In
its letter to Rwandan legislators, Human Rights Watch points out that suspects tried and convicted in Rwanda should be treated equally and should
not be subjected to this punishment.It
urges passage of new legislation that spells out the prohibition for Rwandan
prisoners.Alison Des Forges indicates
that those being harmed by the current dual legal arrangement go far beyond the
prisoners themselves.

“The people who are subject to the punishment
are the ones who suffer the most grievously from it, but Rwanda itself also
suffers in the international arena because it has made certain promises under
international law about how it will treat its own citizens and it’s not keeping
its own promises,” she said.

Last year, a constitutional challenge
pressed to lift the lifetime solitary confinement punishment, but in August,
Rwanda’s Supreme Court said the law was constitutional.Under international law, solitary confinement
for prolonged periods of time violates the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Article 7 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and Article 5 of
the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).